Abstract

Thermoacousticeffects were observed in 100-nm indium tin oxide (ITO) films. The sound emission from the ITO films was measured as a function of power, distance, and frequency. Significant flat and wide frequency responses occurred between 20 and 50 kHz. The sound pressure and efficiency were in good agreement with theoretical results. This indicates that a thermoacousticeffect exists in metal-oxide materials and that a large family of transparent electrodematerials may exhibit similar properties. Using the ultrathin, transparent, and flexible characteristics, we showed promising applications of ITO sound source devices that were integrated with liquid crystal display screens.

Received 26 April 2011Accepted 06 July 2011Published online 28 July 2011

Acknowledgments:

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (61025021, 60936002, 60729308, 51072089, 61011130296, and 61020106006), the National Key Project of Science and Technology (2009ZX02023-001-3), the National 863 Project (2006AA04Z372), and the International Cooperation Project of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2008DFA12000).